2,000 state jobs at risk

Governor backs layoff option as he tells state agencies to ready cuts

ALBANY -- Citing the state's ongoing budget woes, Gov. David Paterson's office on Thursday informed state agency leaders to prepare for additional reductions of 2,000 employees by the end of December -- and approved the use of layoffs as a tool to reach that goal.

"Despite our best efforts the state is falling short of its financial plan targets," it reads in part. "The alternatives available to ensure we remain on a stable fiscal course are limited. ... You will be given the discretion to use layoffs as a part of this reduction in work force."

The memo concludes by noting that individual agencies will hear about their specific targets from their budget examination unit -- although a timeline for that communication isn't given.

Barring court action, this means that agencies may now begin the complex layoff process in addition to employing less dire tactics such as attrition, in which positions vacated in the normal course of employee turnover are left unfilled. It is highly unlikely that even the most aggressive attrition program could achieve the necessary savings by the end of the year.

The new targeted reductions are in addition to the job eliminations already achieved through two types of early retirement initiatives the state has offered.

At a panel discussion last week, Paterson made his first unequivocal statement -- following months of dire predictions -- that the state would need to move to layoffs by the end of the year, partly because the incentive program had failed to achieve the $250 million in workforce savings called for in the 2010-2011 budget.

Reacting to that declaration, the Civil Service Employees Association on Monday filed an improper practice complaint with the Public Employees Relations Board, pointing to the assurances contained in a memo of understanding the Paterson administration signed with CSEA and another large union, the Public Employees Federation. The 2009 document traded a no-layoffs pledge for the unions' support on the establishment of a less-generous Tier V pension package, which is now in effect.

In recent months, Paterson has said the provisions of the agreement have been changed by the state's fiscal crisis. The unions still regard it as essentially an extension of their contracts.

Thursday's action "changes nothing about our position," said CSEA spokesman Stephen Madarasz. "We have a binding agreement prohibiting layoffs or the threat of layoffs for the duration of this administration."

A sustained legal challenge by the unions could push any actual layoffs past Dec. 31, which is both the governor's deadline and the expiration date of the memo of understanding. That would make any layoffs a problem for the next governor -- although it would also reduce the time remaining in the fiscal year to achieve the savings.

Both major-party gubernatorial candidates, Republican Carl Paladino and Democrat Andrew Cuomo, have said they would use layoffs to streamline and consolidate state services, although they vary considerably when describing the scope of the reductions.

But their platforms are largely in sync with at least one aspect of Thursday's memo: "We must acknowledge the continued weakness in the overall economy and in state revenue," it reads. "It is our responsibility and imperative to achieve greater efficiencies in all aspects of our operations, including the work force."